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Sant'Andrea della Valle
Sant'Andrea della Valle is a church dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. More pictures of the church at Wikimedia Commons. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Sant%27Andrea_della_Valle History The first church here was called San Sebastiano, where the Roman lady Lucina, the one also connected to San Lorenzo in Lucina, is said to have found the martyr's body. Next to it was the palace of the Sienese Piccolomini family, which in 1582 was given to the Theatine Fathers by the Countess of Amalfi. They were asked to build a church dedicated to St Andrew, patron of Amalfi. The Theatines moved to San Silvestro al Quirinale a few years later, when Sixtus V had the road widened and demolished the church and palace - but a church dedicated to St Andrew was still built. The church was designed by Pier Paolo Olivieri in 1590 or 1591. Francesco Grimaldi continued the work, and it was completed by Carlo Maderno in 1650. The façade was added 1655–1663 by Carlo Rainaldi, to Maderno's design. The church was made a cardinalitial title by Pope John XXIII in 1960, with Luigi Traglia as the first titular priest. The present titular is Giovanni Canestri, appointed in 1988. The first act of Puccini's opera Tosca is set in this church. The Capella Attavanti was a poetic innovation. Exterior Rainaldi's 17th century Baroque façade from has five lower and three upper bays, divided by pairs of projecting columns. It is crowned by a tympanon, and on the upper level there is a doorway with the arms of Pope Alexander VII (Chigi). He commissioned Ercole Ferrara to make two statues of angels places on the volutes connecting the two levels, but only one was completed. Interior The interior is shaped as a Latin cross, with four side chapels and a nave with a barrel vault. The dome is 16.10 metres in diameter and 80 metres high, making it the second largest dome in Rome. It was designed by Maderno in 1622–1625. The fresco in the dome, the Glories of Paradise, is by Giovanni Lanfranco, painted 1622-1625. The paintings of the Evangelists are by Domenichino. The paintings on the walls and in the half-dome of the sanctuary are very good. Three large ones on the wall, by Calabrese, depict the martyrdom of the saint. In the compartments of the apse, there are paintings by Domenichino, depicting John the Baptist proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah, The call of Peter and Andrew and The martyrdom of St Andrew. The main decoration in the apse is the Crucifixion and Burial of St Andrew by Mattia Preti. The 17th century stuccoes in the apse are by Allessandro Algardi. They are among his earliest works. In the first two bays of the nave are the renaissance tombs of Popes Pius II (died 1464) and Pius III (died 1503), both of the Piccolomini family. Both tombs were originally in the old St Peter's, brought here in 1614. The sarcophagus of Pius II is attributed to Paolo Taccone and an unknown artist influenced by the style of Andrea Bregno. It was made c. 1470. The relief shows the pope receiving the skull of St Andrew the Apostle in Rome, and the pope being introduced to the Blessed Virgin Mary. That of Pius III was made by F. and S. Ferrucci in the early 16th century, and is modeled on the tomb of Pius II. In a chapel to the left of the sanctuary is a shrine to Our Lady of Purity. A statue of the Santo Bambino, the Holy Child, is venerated here. The first chapel on the right side of the nave, the Cappella Lancelotti, has a rich Baroque style designed by Carlo Fontana. The sculptures are by E.A. Raggi. The next chapel on the same side, the Cappella Strozzi, has a more austere Baroque style. It is interesting to see the contrast. It is attributed to Giacomo della Porta, c. 1616. It has a bronze reproduction of Michelangelo's Pietà, and of the figures of Leah and Rachel from Michelangelo's monument to Julius II at San Pietro in Vincoli. The Cappella Barberini, the first on the left-hand side, has a 17th century painting of St Martha by Francesco Mochi and one of St John the Baptist by Pietro Bernini (early 17th century). The altar of St Cajetan of Thiene was made by C. Bazzani in 1912. Liturgy On Epiphany, solemn masses are celebrated in all rites of the Catholic church. Andrea della Valle Andrea della Valle Valle Andrea della Valle Andrea della Valle